The present disclosure generally relates to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device fabricated within an electrical component. In particular, the present disclosure relates to features of an ESD protection device that can be activated to manage the power consumption of the ESD protection device.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can be the sudden flow of electricity between two electrically charged objects which may be initiated by physical contact, an electrical short circuit, or the electrical breakdown of a dielectric material. In certain cases, ESD events can include electric sparks such as lightning or electrical arcing between conductive elements. ESD events can also include less obvious forms which may be neither seen nor heard, but which can involve a voltage potential sufficient to cause damage to sensitive electronic devices. For example, ESD events can cause permanent damage to small features of integrated circuits (ICs) such as dielectric layers, interconnect metal and contacts.